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Bioblitz @ Loyston Point
June 23, 2023 @ 6:00 pm – June 24, 2023 @ 12:00 pm EDT
Free, family friendly opportunity to learn about local animals and plants while contributing to science. Join Discover Life in America and the Tennessee Valley Authority at Loyston Point at Norris Lake.
Two chances to ‘blitz!
Friday, June 23rd, 6pm to 10pm: Join us for an evening of discoveries…we will continue in the dark, as we will set up a black light to monitor insect populations!
Saturday, June 24th, 8am to 12pm: The morning is a great time to look for birds and we will continue to look for other flora and fauna throughout the morning!
See the schedule for the bioblitz below. All sessions led by DLiA’s resident Entomologist, Dr. Will Kuhn, DLiA Biodiversity Program Specialist, Jaimie Matzko and expert Naturalist, Jason Carpenter.
Friday, June 23rd: 6pm to 10pm
| 6pm | Intro to iNaturalist: Learn how to use the free app, iNaturalist to record life and become a community scientist! |
| 7pm | Finding Fungi: Learn how to find, identify and record fungi, lichens and more! |
| 8pm | Night Prowl: We’ll look for nocturnal creatures, like owls, bats, fireflies, and we’ll have a limited supply of blacklight flashlights to see what glows in the dark. |
| 9pm | Blacklighting for “Bugs”: We’ll set up a blacklight to attract all sorts of a wide variety of insects, including moths, aquatic insects, beetles and maybe a few true bugs too. |
Saturday, June 24th: 8am to 12pm EST
| 8am | Intro to iNaturalist: Learn how to use the free app, iNaturalist to record life and become a community scientist. |
| 9am | Birding Basics: We’ll go over how to ID birds by sight and sound by getting out there and observing a variety of birds. Warning, birdwatching can be habit forming! |
| 10am | Plant and Tree ID: We’ll share some great tips on how to identify a variety of different plants and trees in the area. |
| 11am | Explore with iNaturalist: Get out and explore on your own with iNaturalist |
What’s a bioblitz?
During a bioblitz, volunteers help document as many kinds of animals, plants and other organisms as we can find in a certain place. It’s also an opportunity for you to be a community scientist, gathering real scientific data, while also learning about the local flora and fauna living around you.
What will we be doing?
Walking the trails, looking for bugs, flowers, salamanders, and anything else we can find. We’ll photograph them with our phones and post pictures to our iNaturalist project. It’ll be a fun morning of outdoor time in a gorgeous natural space and we’ll have experts on hand to guide small groups around the trail and point out interesting facts about the organisms we see.
Afterward you can see what kind of organisms we found by visiting the project on iNaturalist, which will be left up indefinitely. We encourage you to revisit the Loyston Point trails and post what you find! Making iNaturalist observations helps TVA know what’s out there so they can better manage and protect these public lands.
Before the event
- Download iNaturalist to your phone (it’s free!)
- Follow prompts in the app to create an iNaturalist account
- Bring water and some snacks (we’ll also provide water)
- Wear weather-appropriate clothing and sturdy shoes for hiking
TVA Loyston Point Trails Website